New pills to be less effective at preventing pregnancy · 2007-01-24 10:49
The U.S. officials is considering raising standards for birth control drugs, saying new pills appear to be less effective at preventing pregnancy than those approved decades ago.
The Food and Drug Administration asked a panel of experts on Tuesday whether it should require new contraceptive drugs to meet a standard of effectiveness before approving them for sale.
In documents the F.D.A. says newer contraceptives appear to be less effective – with twice the failure rate at times – than previous products, most likely because manufacturers have started using lower doses of hormones that stop ovulation.
The original pills approved in the 1960s allowed on average fewer than one pregnancy for every 100 women taking the pill for at least a year, the drug agency said. But in the last decade, the government has approved pills allowing more than two pregnancies for every 100 women, New York Times informs.
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